Van, Becca - Coming Home (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (14 page)

“I’m going to get you a shot of whiskey, and I want you to drink it. You’re in shock, baby. You’re beginning to shake already,” Clint said quietly.

“No. No whiskey. It’s not good for the baby. Just bring a hot cup of tea with lots of sugar, please.” Bella stumbled through her reply.

“We’re going to have a baby? Are you sure, Bella?” Adam asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she answered in a wobbly voice.

Clint could hear her teeth chattering and wanted to pull her into his arms, but was afraid of hurting her. He saw Adam walk over with a hot cup of sweet tea and hand it to Marcus. His eyes were on the cuts on his wife’s body, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away. He wondered how the hell she was sitting there without screaming in pain.

Clint watched her as Marcus wrapped his hands around hers, helping to hold the cup steady so she could drink the sweet brew. Once she finished her tea, he picked her up very carefully and slowly, gently lowered her into the just-warm water of the tub. The sound of Bella hissing through her teeth as the water stung her cuts made him clench his teeth with anger, anguish, and concern.

Clint knelt down next to her as she just sat in the warm water, letting the warmth chase the chill from her bones. Once she stopped shaking, he was glad to see her lift her head to look at him and his brothers. Adam and Marcus had joined him and they were now crouched around the metal tub on all sides. She gave him a tremulous smile, took the washcloth from him, and began to clean her wounds. He wanted to do it for her, but he knew it was better if she did it herself. She was the one in pain and she wouldn’t scrub herself too hard. Once done, she stood up and would have stumbled if he hadn’t reached out to steady her.

Clint lifted her from the tub and wrapped her in a towel, being careful not to move the material on her body and abrade her injuries. He carried her down the hall into their bedroom and gently laid her on the bed.

“I have a bolt of white cotton in the chest at the end of the bed. We need to cut it up into long strips so I can cover these wounds,” Bella said.

She didn’t have to explain. Clint and his brothers got to work cutting the cotton into strips until they had a pile of bandages. Adam held her up against his chest while he and Marcus got to work. They had her bound up and settled on the bed fifteen minutes later. He could see her eyes getting heavy. She clutched at her head as if it was aching. She was nearly asleep, and Clint was glad. At least she would be able to escape the pain from the cuts if she was sleeping. “I’m probably going to be sleeping a lot over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Don’t worry too much. David hit me on the head, and I think I have a slight concussion. It’s normal to sleep a lot when that happens. If you’re worried, you can try and wake me every couple of hours. If I’m still sleeping after forty-eight hours, you’ll need to get a doctor. I should be right as rain by tomorrow afternoon, though. Love you,” Bella slurred then fell asleep.

* * * *

The next twenty-four hours were the worst Clint and his brothers had ever endured. Clint set up a schedule taking turns in looking after Bella. He was glad she had told him she would be sleeping a lot because even though he was worried about her, he wasn’t frantic since she had told him she would sleep a lot. He only woke her every couple of hours. He made her drink water every time he or his brothers woke her, and when he was satisfied she had enough to drink, he would let her sleep again. They took turns with her, sleeping and working in shifts, and when they weren’t on Bella duty, they conversed and planned. Clint had brought in the doctor from Big Lake. Marcus had ridden hard, bringing the doctor back with him, the thought of losing their wife to fever or infection a fear he’d been unable to endure. He had been relieved when the young doctor had advised that Bella had done a good job cleaning her wounds and wrapping them, protecting them from getting infected.

He was going to hire a contingent of men to help out on the ranch. He hadn’t had the inclination to hire anyone before, preferring to do the work with the help of his brothers, keeping their days busy since they had no one to come home to. Since that fateful day he and his brothers had headed to Big Lake, looking for a few hours of pleasure, he didn’t want to spend as much time working the ranch. His life had been changed for the better when they had found their wife lying unconscious on the ground just north of the town.

He couldn’t wait until Bella was on the mend again. He wanted to know if he had heard what she said correctly, and if it was true they were going to be fathers. Bella woke in the early evening the next day, and Clint was relieved to see their wife was her usual feisty self, just a little slower than normal.

Clint and his brothers continued to look after Bella over the next three days. He could tell she was feeling better when she began to snap and snarl and became antsy with them. He knew she wanted to get out of bed, but he thought it was too soon. That was until she put her foot down. “Okay, that’s it. I appreciate all the love and care you’ve given me over the last few days, but now it’s time to stop. Don’t you have work you should be doing?” Bella asked.

“No, baby. We hired on some hands and they have everything covered,” Clint answered.

“Shit, then maybe you could start building onto the house. We’re going to need more room when the baby comes along. And we have to work out a way to get water plumbed into the house. I would kill for a shower right now,” Bella said as she pushed her hair back from her face.

“How are you wounds, Bella?” Marcus asked, moving over to her.

“They’re fine. Healing nicely. Is that bacon I smell? God, it smells so good. I could eat half a pig I’m so hungry,” Bella muttered, then laughed as she watched her men run about getting her food.

Bella ate her late breakfast, brunch really, with relish, savoring every bite of food. When she was done, she pushed her empty plate to the side and sat back to find her men staring at her with hunger. She twitched in her seat, squeezing her thighs together to relieve her aching clit, and reached up to touch her necklace. She let out a loud gasp of anguish, and her men jumped from their seats to surround her, all talking at once. “What is it, baby?”

“What’s wrong, darlin’?”

“Are you in pain, honey?”

“No, I’m fine, but my necklace—it’s gone,” Bella stated, tears pricking the back of her eyes. “The chain must have broken when David kidnapped me. I’ve lost my pendant.”

“Aw, baby. Don’t worry about that. We have enough money to buy you dozens of necklaces and pendants. Besides, you were meant to lose it. Otherwise you would never have found your way here to us,” Clint said gently, rubbing her thigh as he squatted next to her.

“I know you’re right. It’s just that, it was special. It meant a lot to me. You guys gave it to me. I love you all so much. God has truly blessed us by bringing me here to you.”

“Bella, we love you, too, baby. Let us show you how much. That’s if you’re up to some lovin’?” Clint asked, holding his hand out to her.

“I’m always up to making love with my men. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be. Here, home with my men back in 1865,” Bella said with a grin, taking Clint’s hand and rising to her feet. She followed him into the bedroom, Marcus and Adam close at her heels. They had a lifetime to spend together, living, loving, and making babies. She was going to hold on to the precious gift given to her from above and never let go.

They spent the entire day in bed, making love until they all fell into an exhausted sleep.

Epilogue

Bella grunted, breathing through the pain that wracked her body. If she didn’t know what a precious gift she would have to hold in her arms after her torture was over, she would never have been able to endure.

Bella snarled at her husbands every time they reached out to her. They had gotten her into this mess in the first place. She’d been pacing the floorboards since the early hours of the morning and hadn’t woken her husbands, knowing they would drive her crazy once they knew she was in labor. And she had been right. Adam wanted her to lie down on the bed. Clint wanted to rub her back and belly every time she had a contraction, and Marcus—sweet Marcus just wanted to hold her in his arms. She was having none of that.

She snarled at them for the slightest thing, and even though she knew she was being unfair, she couldn’t seem to help herself. She didn’t want them touching her at all. She had gotten into this predicament by them touching her then making love to her. There was no way in hell they were coming near her again. They had cocks for goodness’ sake, and as far as she was concerned right at this moment, cocks were dangerous.

Bella leaned a hand against the wall, doubled over, and groaned as a strong contraction ripped through her belly and womb. She could feel her men hovering nearby, but dared not look up at them. If she saw the concern, worry, and fear on their faces, she was going to let them have it with her tongue. Once the contraction had passed, Bella walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. She hummed quietly to herself as she sliced some bread and began to make a sandwich. She was so hungry she could eat a horse.

“Bella, baby, why don’t you sit down and let me make you something to eat?” Clint asked.

“Because, I am quite capable of doing it myself,” Bella snapped then began humming again as she worked. She sliced some beef from the hunk of meat that had been in the cool box. She couldn’t wait for electricity to be used more prevalently and for the refrigerator to be invented.

Bella took her sandwich over to the dining table, sat down, and began to eat, totally ignoring her husbands. She knew she was being a bitch, but considering she was in labor, she thought she had every right to be moody. She was halfway through her sandwich when pain ripped through her. Beads of sweat broke out over her skin, and she couldn’t help the cry of pain escaping her mouth as she clutched her large belly and she doubled over.

“I’m sorry for being so nasty. I don’t know what’s come over me. Can one of you please help me to bed?” Bella asked, her voice no more than a whispered whimper.

“Sure we can, darlin’,” Marcus replied.

Then Marcus was at her side. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her down the hall to the bedroom. Layers of old, worn sheets had been placed on the bed, ready for when Bella was to give birth. He placed her on the bed and helped her to remove her clothes. He was about to pull the covers up over her, but Bella stopped him.

“No. I’m too hot,” Bella complained then cried out as another pain gripped her.

“What can we do to help you, honey?” Adam asked as he crawled onto the bed at her side.

“I don’t know. Just being here with me is enough, even if I am being a bitch.”

“Darlin, you can get as snarky and bitchy as you want. It won’t make a difference to us. We love you no matter what,” Marcus replied from her other side.

“Oh God. You’re so good to me,” Bella wailed, tears flowing down her cheeks. “What would I ever do without you?”

“You’ll never have to find out, baby,” Clint said from his place down the bed, between her thighs. “It won’t be long now, Bella. Just breathe, baby. You’re doing great.”

“Ooh,” Bella groaned as another pain battered her body. “They’re coming so fast now there’s no time to rest in between.”

“Our baby’s nearly ready to be born, honey. Have you settled on a name yet?” Adam asked, trying to distract his wife from her pain. “I know we had several in mind, for both sexes, but you haven’t told us which one you liked best.”

“I already told you we’re having a girl, Adam. And yes, I’ve narrowed the names down to twooo,” Bella moaned. “I’ve got to push. Don’t you dare tell me not to, Clint, or I swear I’ll cut your cock off.”

Bella couldn’t hold back her laughter when she heard Clint’s bellow. She laughed and cried at the same time, all the while pushing. Adam and Marcus were great. They helped her sit upright as she pushed. The burning pain as her daughter’s head crowned was excruciating, but she didn’t stop. Three pushes and her daughter’s head was out. She waited for one more contraction and pushed the rest of her daughter from her body. She flopped back onto the pillows, totally exhausted after fifteen long hours of labor. Her eyelids slid closed then popped open again at the lusty sound of her baby crying.

Clint handed her baby over to her. She was bundled up in an old cotton sheet and would need to be cleaned up, but she was the most beautiful, precious gift she’d ever held in her arms. Bella was oblivious to the pain as the afterbirth expelled from her body. Nothing mattered but her husbands and her beautiful baby girl.

“Welcome home, Jessica Rose,” Bella whispered to her daughter. She had tears of joy and love streaming down her face. She looked up at her husbands to see they were also crying tears of joy.

Coming home to the year of 1865 had never felt so right.

THE END

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